Recently I saw a short video clip which
graphically showed how over the last 30 years, the computer has become a gadget which enables us to access all types
of information under one roof. The video begins with a shot of a table
cluttered with scores of items like a
clock, a telephone, calculator, photo frames with pictures, memo pads,
scissors, newspapers, magazines, a globe, a fax machine, a camera, a transistor radio, television, a bunch of
letters etc., all disappearing one by
one and reappearing as icons on the screen of a laptop. The information or
whatever you want to see is available to you on clicking over the appropriate icon. Thanks to the
introduction of smart phones ( I call them ‘over’ smart phones) all this information is now available in your mobile phone – literally putting the
world in your palm.
While the smart phone has certainly helped
in shrinking the world and has helped in instant
communication with your near and dear ones
it is guilty of almost
eliminating - the one- on- one or one- to- group, normal personal communication and interaction. So
much so that the younger generation and the not so young generation, have started living in a virtual world.
In the eighties and nineties Television was
the only distraction available in a home preventing normal conversations. The
one occasion when the family was
together was when they were watching an
episode of a mega serial in the only television set available at home. And how
the family used to hate a good
friend dropping in on a social call
without prior appointment. Today, even
that opportunity for the family to bond has been snatched away by various gadgets.
The other day I was visiting a friend,
after telling him in advance that I want to meet him to discuss some problem I was facing. After receiving me and making me sit in the drawing room, the
friend excused himself to attend to an urgent call . His son was busy texting
on his mobile, his daughter was occupied with a laptop, his wife was busy talking
on her mobile. Even his old parents were busy watching a serial on the
television placed in one corner of the drawing room. Nobody even bothered to
recognize my presence in the room. My friend came back after 10 minutes full of apologies when his mobile rang again. . “ Excuse me , this is also an
urgent call I have to attend `- so saying he again vanished into his bedroom to
attend to the call. I felt miserable sitting there twiddling my thumb hoping to
get the attention of someone from the
family. When I realized that nobody was bothered about me I made a quiet exit without even bidding good
bye to my friend. He is yet to call me
to apologize for the treatment meted out
to me by the whole family.
I
realized later that I could have got the attention and views of my friend easily if I had tried to talk to him over the
phone instead of trying to meet him
personally- wasting precious time and money traveling five kms to & from his house.
No wonder, `WhatsApp` has become today an
important means of communicating with your near and dear ones, even when
they are sitting right next to you!
(This
article appeared in Adyar Times issue dt. 26th Feb-5th
march,2017 under my column `Rajan`s Random Reflections`)
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